Mechanical movement.



PATBNTED JUNE 9, 1908.

G. N. MEVES. MECHANICAL MOVEMENTi APPLICATION FILED AUG. 10, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

7 llllllllllllll j 0., WAIHINOTON, D. c;

PATENTED JUNE 9, 1908.

G. N. MEVES. MECHANICAL MOVEMENT. APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 10. 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

v I n I Ifiv/IIIII/IIIIIIIIII/ I na UNITED STES TN FFIQF.

GUSTAV N. MEVES, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TOTHE BENBOW-BRAMMER MANU FAOTURING COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 9, 1908.

Application filed August 10, 1906. Serial No. 329,994.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUsTAv N. MEvEs, a citizen of the United States, of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l/Iechanical Movements; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a mechanical movement and it refers more specifically to an improved construction in mechanisms for converting a continuous rotary movement of one shaft into a rotary reciprocating, or to and fro turning, movement of another shaft. Mechanism of this character is adapted for employment whenever it is desired to convert a continuous rotary movement of one shaft into a rotary reciprocating movement of another part or shaft and is especially applicable to washing machines for imparting rotary reciprocating movement to the agitator shaft of a washing machine from the continuously rotative driving shaft thereof.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a side elevation, with parts shown in section, of a mechanism embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is an end view of the parts, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-section, taken on line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a cross-section, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view illustrating a modification of the jointed connection between the driving wheel hub and shaft. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the detachable part of the hub of the driving wheel of the mechanism shown in Fig. 5, removed from the other parts of the machine. Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the hub of the driving wheel shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating afurther modification of the invention. Fig. 8 is a cross-section taken on line 8-8 ofv Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is an end view of the hub of the driving wheel shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is a cross-section, taken on line 1()-1O of Fig. 7. Fig. 11

is a side elevation, with parts broken away, of the detachable portion of the hub of the driving wheel shown in Fig. 7.

fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of the driving wheel hub to produce the jointed or flexible connection of the driving shaft with said hub.

As shown in the drawings,A designates the continuously rotative shaft of the mech anism, and B the drivenshaft to which is imparted rotary reciprocating movement from the continuously rotative shaft A. The shaft B may constitute the upper end of the agitator shaft of a washing machine.

C designates what may be the cover or upper wall of the tub of the washing machine, upwardly through which the shaft B extends.

D designates the supporting frame for the mechanism, which is formed to provide at one end a portion D containing upper and lower bearings d d for the shaft B, and at its other end a horizontal bearing sleeve (1.

E designates a driving wheel through the medium of which the shaft A is rotated.

Said wheel is provided with a horizontally arranged tubular hub E that is rotatively mounted in the bearing sleeve (i As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, said hub is made an integral part of the driving wheel E and its cylindric bearing in the sleeve (1 is formed between a shoulder c on the hub and a removable shoulder, as the nut 6 which has screw-threaded engagement with the inner end of the hub and bears against the inner end of the bearing sleeve d Said nut 0 may be secured to the hub in any suitable manner, as by means of a lock or jam-nut 6 The bearing sleeve d is provided with an oil aperture d through which a lubricant may be applied to the bearing-between the rotative hub and said sleeve.

The driving shaft A is provided at its inner end with a pinion A adapted to alternately engage the upper and lower sides of radial teeth, arranged in a circular series and carried by the shaft B, whereby the continuous rotation of the shaft A is converted into a rotary reciprocating movement of the shaft B. The said teeth or gears are, in this instance, formed by pins F F carried by the shaft B. As herein shown, said pins F are formed on a cylinder F that is non-rotatively fixed to the shaft in any suitable manner. The inner end of the shaft A which carries the pinion A is adapted to rise and fall when passing from one side of the row of teeth or Fig. 12 is a 1 gears to the other, and, for this purpose is connected at its outer end with the hub by a joint or connection located inside the hub permitting said rising and falling movement of the outer or pinion carrying end thereof.

'The pinion A is held in meshing engagement with the teeth F carried by the shaft B, when engaged with the .upper and lower sides of said teeth, and also when passing around the curved row of teeth, by engagement of the extended end a of the shaft A with a cam groove formedin the exterior face of the cylinder F extending above and below and around the ends of the series of teeth. The said extended end a of the shaft A, as Well also as the teeth F of the cylinder, may be provided with roller hearings to facilitate the action of said parts one upon the other.

The radially extending, curved series of teeth, cooperating with the pinion in the manner described, constitute, in effect, a double row of teeth or cogs carried by the rotary reciprocating shaft B that are adapted to be alternately engaged by the pinion dur ing the continuous rotation and rising and falling movement of the inner end of the shaft A, in a manner to rotate the shaft B first in one direction and then in the other; it being obvious that the upper and lower sides of said radially extending pins constitute such double row of teeth in the same manner as though said sides of the teeth were formed on separated radial extensions of the cylinder F So far as the present invention is concerned, therefore, the arrangement of the teeth, adapted to be alternately engaged by the pinion to effect the rotary reciprocating movement of the shaft B, may be widely varied from the arrangement herein shown, while capable of ready adaptation to the improvements constituting my invention.

Referring now to the jointed connection between the outer end of the rising and falling, continuously rotative driving shaft A and the hub E of the driving wheel, the said parts are made as follows: The connection herein shown between said parts embraces, in general terms, a ball and socket joint located within said hollow hub of the driving wheel in the plane of the wheel, one of said parts being provided with a spherically curved head or ball and the other part with a corresponding socket which permits the shaft A to rise and fall in a plane parallel with the shaft B. As herein shown, said shaft A is provided at its outer end with a spherical head or'ball A which is formed integral with the shaft. When said head or ball is formed integral with the shaft, the socket withinthe hub to receive the ball or head comprises a two-part socket. In this instance, said socket is formed partially on the outer face or side of an interior flange 0 of the hub and the inner end of a nut E that enters the outer open to correspond to the spherical contour of the head or ball A Said flange 0* surrounds an opening a in the hub through. which extends the shaft A, and said opening, as well as the bore of the hollow hub, is made of suflicient diameter to permit the required rising and falling movement of the shaft A. The said ball or head and its socket need not be made truly s herical, it being-necessary that they be ma e with cylindric surfaces only to provide the required flexibility of the joint to permit the rising and falling movement of the outer or pinion end of the shaft.

In assembling the parts of the hub the driving wheel is inserted into its bearing through the outer end of the bearing, and the shaft A is inserted through the hub before the pinion A is fixed thereto. Thereafter the nut E is fitted in place to complete the socket which incloses the ball or headed end of the shaft. The said head or ball of the shaft A has interlocking connection with the hub whereby rotative movement of the hub is transmitted to the shaft. This is effected in the present instance by means of lugs a a which extend oppositely from said head and engage oppositely located, parallel grooves e formed in the cylindric side walls of the hub, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3 and in dotted lines in Figs. 1. and 2. The said. nut E constitutes, in effect, a part of the hub, but is shown as made separate therefrom and removably secured thereto for the purpose of facilitating the assembling of the joint when. the head or ball A is formed an integral part of the shaft A. The said shaft A has guiding engagement in a vertical guide slot d formed in the bearing frame D to hold the shaft and pinion laterally in operative position. Said. frame D may constitute a portion of a casing which incloses the intermeshing gears of the continuously rotative and the rotary reciproeating shaft. Then so constructed, the frame D may have the form of a hemi-spherical casing, to which is hinged a like member D such construction being generally similar to the casing shown in the pending application of John Edens, filed December 1st, 1905, Serial Number 289,836. The said bearing frame or casing may be provided with a flange or web (Z as shown in Fig. 1, adapted to engage the hub of the pinion A to hold said pinion and the shaft from being forced away from the cylinder carrying the teeth or pins F.

In the operation of the mechanism described, the shaft A is turned continuously in one direction through the medium of the hand-wheel E. The continuous rotation of said shaft acts through its meshing engagement with the teeth on the cylinder F to turn the shaft B in one direction until said 1 pinion reaches one end. of the series of teeth, and the guiding engagement of the extension a of said shaft with the cam groove F causes the pinion to move from one side of the teeth to the other, and when said pinion has passed into engagement with said other side of the teeth the direction of rotation of-the shaft B is reversed. The continuous rotation of the shaft A, therefore, imparts a to-and-fro turning reciprocatory rotation to the shaft-B, the shaft A and its pinion rising and falling at the end of the rotary reciprocating movement of the shaft B to engage the alternate sides of'the teeth.

The jointed connection of the shaft A with the hub of the wheel permits the shaft and pinion to readily adapt themselves to the ac tion of the teeth carried by the shaft B in a manner to minimize the friction of the work ing parts. The said connection is also constructed in a manner to produce a durable joint which has ample strength to transmit movement from the wheel to the shaft A. The said construction, while producing the foregoing desirable results, enables the mechanism to be materially shortened over all. \Vhile providing ample length to the shaft A, it avoids an objectionable amplitude of swing of said shaft, and an objectionable angular movement of the shaft about its axis of oscillation.

Instead of forming the socket which re ceives the ball or headed end of the shaft A on a part integral with the wheel, the said part may be made separate from and detachably fitted to the wheel to constitute a two-part hub. This construction is shown in Figs. 4 to 6, inclusive, and is made as follows: E designates a separate, elongated sleeve portion of the hub which fits closely within the hub 13* proper of the wheel E and is interlocked thereto by means of a latch G that is fastened by means of a screw 9 to said hub, and is provided with a lug or detent 9 that extends through registering openings in the hub and detachable sleeve, the opening in the sleeve being designated by the reference letter 6 (Fig. 6). In this construction, the sleeve is inserted into the hub and the bearing from the inner end of the bearing. In this instance, the separable part E of the socket, corresponding with the nut E shown in Fig. 1, is formed integral with the wheelhub and the sleeve E is interlocked therewith by means of lugs e at the end thereof which enter suitable notches in said part E, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 In other respects the construction of the joint is generally similar to that shown in Figs' 1 to 3, inclusive, and such like parts bear the same reference letters.

In the construction shown in Figs. 7 to. 11, inclusive, antifriction bearing members are interposed between the driving wheel and the bearing d In this construction, a sleeve E is provided, corresponding with the sleeve E shown in Figs. 5 and 6, which is inserted and held removably in the hub E The said sleeve is provided with a reduced cylindric portion e located between the inner flange e and a shoulder e engaging the outer end of the bearing sleeve (1 The reduction of said sleeve forms an annular chamber between the sleeve and bearing in L which are located a plurality of cylindric rollers II which reduce the rotative bearing friction between the said hub and said bearing. The separable sleeve of the hub is in terlocked with the inner portion E of the e which enter the grooves e hub by lugs the lugs a of the head A of the which receive driving shaft.

In the construction shown in Fig. 12, the driving wheel E is provided with a closed ended hub E generally similar to that shown in Fig. 5, said hub embracing in its construc tion a separable sleeve E that is fixed to the main body of the hub by means of a setscrew E extending through and having screw-threaded engagement with the hub and entering a socket e in the removable part of the hub. The closed end of the hub is formed to provide a spherically concave, inwardly facing recess e which cooperates with a like outwardly facing recess on an interior flange 0 ofthe part E of the hub to form a socket to receive the ball or head A of the shaft A. In other respects the construction of the parts may be the same as that of the constructions before described.

In the several constructions shown in Figs. 4 to 12 inclusive the sleeves illustrated therein constitute parts or members of the hubs, each of said hubs embracing a member integral with the wheel and a detachable or sleeve member which constitutes the bearing portion of the hub.

I claim as my invention 1. In a mechanical movement, the combination with a bearing frame, of a driving wheel provided. with an elongated tubular hub rotatively mounted in the frame, a driven shaft capable of rotary reciprocatory motion, a continuously rotative driving shaft, and intermeshing gears on the driving and driven shafts, said continuously rotative shaft being provided on its outer end with a ball or head and being adapted to be inserted through the hub from the outer end of the latter, the hub being provided with an internal, outwardly facing spherical surface adapted for engagement by said head, and with a part extending into the outer end thereof having an inwardly facing spherical surface which cooperates with said outwardly facing spherical surface to provide a socket to receive said head or ball, the parts being so arranged that the inner end of the continuously rotative or driving shaft is ca meshing pable of a rising and falling movement and imparts through the continuous rotation thereof a rotary reciprocatory movement to the driven shaft.

2. In a mechanical movement, the combination with a bearing frame, of a driving wheel provided with an elongated tubular hub rotatively mounted in said frame, a driven shaft mounted in said frame and capable of rotary reciprocatory movement, a rotative driving shaft extending at one end into said hollow hub and provided between the ends of the hub with a head or ball non-rotatively fixed to said provided between its ends with an internal apertured flange through which said driving shaft extends and with an outwardly facing spherical surface engaging said head, a nut entering the outer end of said hub and having detachable connection therewith and provided in its inner end with a spherical surface which cooperates with the outwardly facing spherical surface of said flange to pro vide a socket for said head or ball of the driving shaft, thereby constituting a joint between the shaft and hub permitting the inner end of the shaft to rise and fall, and intergears on the driving shaft and the driven shaft for imparting to the latter a rotary reciprocatory movement through the continuous rotation of the driving shaft.

3. In a mechanical movement, the combination with a bearing frame, of a driving wheel provided with an elongated tubular hub rotatively mounted in said frame, said 4 hub including a sleeve that is removablv mounted in the wheel, a driven shaft capable of rotary reciprocating movement, a driving shaft extending into said removable sleeve of the hub and connected with said sleeve by a ball and socket joint located within the sleeve between the ends thereof and intermeshing gears on said driven shaft and the driving shaft for imparting a rotary reciprohub, said hub being j catory movement to the driven shaft through I the continuous rotation of the driving shaft,

4. In a mechanical movement, the combination with a bearing frame, of a driving I Wheel provided l hub rotatively mounted in the frame, said hub including a sleeve that is removably mounted in the wheel,'antifriction rollers l interposed between said hub and bearing, a driven shaft capable of rotary reciprocatory movement, a driving shaft extending into said removable sleeve of the hub and connected with said sleeve by a ball and socket joint located within the sleeve between the ends thereof and intermeshing gears on the driven shaft and driving shaft for imparting a rotary reciprocatory motion to the driven shaft through the continuous rotation of the driving shaft.

5. In a mechanical movement, the combination with a bearing frame, of a driving wheel provided with an elongated tubular hub rotatively mounted in the frame, said hub including a sleeve which is mounted in the wheel, means removably and non-rotatively fixing the sleeve in the wheel, a driven shaft capable of rotary reciprocatory motion, a driving shaft extending into said removable sleeve of the hub and connected with said sleeve by a ball and socket joint located within the sleeve between the ends thereof, and intermeshing gears on the driven shaft and driving shaft for imparting a rotary reciprocatory motion to the driven shaft through the continuous rotation of the driving shaft.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this sixth day of August, A. D. 1906.

GUSTAV N. MEVES.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. STAINMANN, J. B. ToENIsKoErTER.

with an elongated tubular 

